


Headache

by gladdecease



Category: Firefly, Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Community: comment_fic, Crossover, Gen, Podfic Available, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-03
Updated: 2009-07-03
Packaged: 2017-10-14 13:45:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/149814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gladdecease/pseuds/gladdecease
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when a mind reader meets a Reader?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Headache

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](http://community.livejournal.com/comment_fic/30884.html?thread=5494948#t5494948) in response to [darkmagic_luvr](http://darkmagic_luvr.livejournal.com)'s prompt: Twilight/Firefly, Edward Cullen/River Tam, mind reading

Edward dislikes this time period. He dislikes most time periods, where, as a teenager physically, he is rarely treated like the several centuries old adult that he is. In this time, there is no true 'age of adulthood'. If you live on the Rim, it's when you can take care of yourself. If you live on a better planet, it's when you've been introduced to society. As Carlisle is a respectable doctor on Ariel, and Edward does not age, which would be noticed, he will never be introduced to society, and thus never an adult. It's quite annoying.

He's almost glad when the firm Carlisle is with moves off-planet. They follow him to an Outer world - not quite the Rim, but certainly not Ariel. He spends the first few days unpacking with the rest of his family, then wanders around town with Bella. It's supposedly dangerous, but then again, Edward is supposedly a doctor's son, spoiled and weak, on this planet against his will.

They pass a group of three that sparks Edward's interest. He doesn't mean to read as deeply as he does, but he finds some very interesting things.

One: they live on a ship named Serenity, after the battle, by one of the few living from the losing side. He's never met a Browncoat supporter before.

Two: that strange little viral clip about Miranda a few months back was sent out by these people. And was real.

Three: the quiet little girl walking nearest to him is reading his mind.

It's always a headache to run into another reader; the train of thought you receive, if you start reading first, is "Hmm, what's he thinking..." followed by your own thoughts, followed by "Oh! another reader!" followed by an attempted block, which ends up in a literal headache.

This girl is a surprise. Her thoughts are very out of sync, illogical, random. Not stream-of-consciousness random, or your typical insanity random, but random enough to give him pause. He stops walking, vaguely hears Bella voicing her concerns. He turns to watch the strange girl. She does the same.

"She isn't like the boy, with his sharp sharp teeth," she whispers. "She can't control it. Always on, never off, lightbulb burning bright, burning out, out of time, out of luck - " As her voice grows louder, more frantic, the couple next to her look wary. The other girl - Kaylee - murmurs something soft and comforting to the girl, which does nothing. The boy (her brother, a doctor - Simon Tam, he's sure Carlisle's mentioned the Tams before) whispers something in her ear that immediately calms her.

"She's been conditioned," Edward realizes. "An Alliance project?"

They immediately looks suspicious of him. For good reason, of course. Edward certainly looks Alliance-allied, and all of their family are on the run... and not all of them because of their connection to the girl.

"Edward?" Bella asks him. "Is that girl... like us?"

He's still puzzling that out, actually. "No, not like us. A bit like me, though I don't think her brother would like me saying that." Edward smiles at Simon, who seems torn between shock, fear, and anger. He steps forward, bows congenially, and says, "Forgive me my forwardness, Dr Tam, but I feel my family may be of some help to your sister." He produces a card, hands it to Simon. "My father has some greater experience with her condition than you do, I suspect."

Simon stares at the card. "I... remember Dr Cullen being very compassionate, but not particularly talented. Old-fashioned."

Bella muffles a laugh. She still finds their immortality a great inside joke.

"You could call him that. It's in cases that are more... supernatural that he shows his ability."

Kaylee and Simon share a look. "We'll look into it the next time we're planet-side."

"Of course."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Headache [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6705766) by [blackglass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackglass/pseuds/blackglass)




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